Art
Nature
#birds
#Gigi Chen
#portray
February 27, 2024
Kate Mothes
“Vacancy,” acrylic on wooden, 18 x 24 inches. All photographs © Gigi Chen, courtesy of Antler Gallery, shared with permission
Drawing on her coaching in animation and a love for the work of Renaissance painters who expressed symbolism by means of atmospheric scenes and nonetheless lifes, Gigi Chen merges reasonable depictions of birds with surreal settings.
In an upcoming exhibition at Antler Gallery in Portland, Oregon, Chen continues to include tiny homes or cottages into the crooks of timber or otherworldly landscapes. She usually illuminates neon indicators or geometric shapes (beforehand), juxtaposing the pure wildness of the feathered creatures with parts of the human-built atmosphere, which encroaches on their habitats or makes for peculiar nesting websites.
Many of Chen’s recent works discover the connection between inner and exterior experiences, like a pair of tufted titmice peering right into a home that reads “vacancy” on the roof. The owl is a tribute to Flaco, a beloved Eurasian eagle-owl that frequented Central Park and different elements of New York City after he had escaped from the zoo. “I was fortunate enough to have seen and photographed him regularly while he was in the Central Park Zoo and then in Central Park,” Chen says. She made the portray “Vacancy” after she first photographed him within the park’s North Woods.
Portraying a need for a place to name home, the artist channels notions round safety and the preciousness of life, such because the glowing breast of a lifeless pigeon that lies close to a damaged pomegranate—an emblem of eternal life and fertility all through artwork historical past—or giant birds of prey searching for his or her smaller companions.
Chen’s exhibition, a duo presentation with Erika Sanada, runs from February 29 to March 24. See extra on the artist’s website, and comply with updates on Instagram.
“Blue Skies,” acrylic on wooden, 16 x 20 inches
“Still + Life,” acrylic on wooden, 11 x 14 inches
“From The Group Up,” acrylic on wooden, 16 x 20 inches
“Find Me Under the Lights,” acrylic on wooden, 18 x 24 inches
“Magnolia Dreams,” acrylic on wooden, 14.5 x 21.5 inches
#birds
#Gigi Chen
#portray
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